Blank feeding and positioning mechanism for can-body-making machines



De;11,12s. 1,694,387

P. KRUSE BLANK FEEDING AND POSITIONING MECHANISM FOR CAN BODY MAKING MACHINES Filed June 17, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Age i2 2.

lNVENTOR By Attorneys,

P. KRUSE BLANK FEEDING AND POSITIONING MECHANISM FOR CAN BODY MAKING MACHINES Filed June 7, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet ,2

y A ttorneys,

Patented Dec. 11, 19528;.

PETER KRUSE, F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AS SIGNOR 'I'O E. W. BLISS BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF DELAW.

COMPANY, OI

BLANK FEEDING AND POSITIONING. MECSM FOR CAIN-BODY-MG- MACHINES.

Application filed June 17, 1927. Serial No. 199,465.

This invention relates to improvements inv 1 blank having previously formed marginal posit-ion. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in hooks'is positioned tangent to a horn about which such blank is wrapped, the marginal hooks being then interlocked and the side.

seam thus formed, swedged down to form a secure seal. The present invention more particularly relates to means for moving the blank into position and accurately securingit in such position. i

One. object of the present invention is to provide an improved gripper finger whereby the blanks are moved from one position to another, where successive operations are performed upon them.

' A further object is to provide an improved means for positively positioning the blanks with respect to the horn about which such blanks are bent to form the hollow can body.

Other obj e'cts and special features of the invention will be set forth in the following description, throughout which reference is had to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a fragmentary side 'elevation partiallyin section of the gripper finger according to the present invention, the gripper finger being shown in its open, or released Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 corresponds .to Fig. 1 except that the gripper finger has been moved to its opposed position-,and in which position the blank is positively gripped between the jaws of the nger.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken along the line.

IV'IV of Fig. 3, the section, being taken asviewed from'theleft.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section taken along the line VV of Fig. 3-, the section being viewed from.

the right. 1 V r Fig. 6 is a small; scaleiviewcorresponding to Fig. 1, butshows dia 'rammatica 1y succesive gripper'finge'rs wherebythe blanks are moved to successive stations.

Fig. 7 is a central andv vertical longitudinal cross-section taken throughfthe horn about which the blanks are wrapped, and illustrates the improved mechanism for holding the blank in position while it is being bent around the horn. a

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the mechanism illustrated in Fig 7.

Fig. 9 is a transverse cross-section taken along the line IX-1X of Fig. 7, this view illustrating only the horn and the member which co-operates with it to hold the blank in tion.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary along the line XX of Fig. 7.

The improvements herein set forth, though applicable to a variety ofmechanisms, are

position during the body-forming opera-' cross-section taken particularly designed for use in a can bodymaking machine having the general characteristics of the can body-maker described in United States Patent No. 1,081,050, granted '7 to me December 9, 1913, and reference may be had. to such patent for a more detailed explanation of the general construction and co- Operative relationship of the several co-acting elements in a can body-making machine.

/. According to the present invention, improved and more positive acting blank-gripping devices are provided to take the place of the gripper-fingers illustrated in m patent above referred to, particularly 1n Figs. 3 and 4. The present improved blank-grip- ...ping device is herein illustrated in Figs. 1

to 6 inclusive, and referring to these figures, this portion of the scribed.

Upon a table or platform 1, which usuallyprovides the support or mounting for the several devices which cooperate to form aesheet,

metal blank into a completed can body, is

guided a pair of reciproeatory feed bars 2. These bars carry a plurality of blank-gripping devices generally referred to by. the letter A, the function of which is to carry the blanks forwardly u on each successive forward movement of t e feed bars 2 to the next advanced, position or station so that. the

blanks are caused to progress through the-machine step by step, difi'erent operatlons bein performed upon the blanks in the severe. positions to which they are brought. In the usual can body-making machines these successive operations comprise (1) notching of the corners of the blanks; (2) bending the prior I mechanism will now be de-.

'marginal hooks, which eventually are 7 process of thus forming can bodies is continuous, and with the modern automatic sheet feeding mechanism, together with mechanicalimprovements according to the present invention, the speed at which the blanks are converted into can bodies runs above 300 per minute. At such speed it is highly important that the action of the several component parts of the mechanism be as nearly positive as possible, and to this end the present gripper fingers are provided with positive mechanical locking means whereby the blank isgripped as between the jaws of a vise, instead of as heretofore being held between the lips of a spring clip, such as the device illustrated in my prior atent to which reference has hereinbefore een made.

The improved blank-gripping device comprises upper and lower finger-like members 5; 6 respectively, these members being pivotally mounted at their left-hand end, and providing at their right-hand end jaws 7, 8. The jaws may be caused to separate to receive the sheet .rnetal blank by means of a spring 9 interposed between the members 5, 6, springretaining recesses 10 being provided to, hold the spring in position.

The finger members are mechanically brought together to positively grip the blank,

which they engage upon a forward movement of the feed bar 2, by the action of a link or yoke 11 pivotally connected to the upper finger member 5. Such pivotal connection is suitably provided bymeans of a pin 12 which extends through said member and opposite sides of the link, the two sides of which embrace both the upper and lower finger members, as indicated 1n Figs. 1 and 2, The two sides of the link or yoke 11 are connected below the gripper fingers by a pin 13 upon which is mounted a roller 14, the said roller cooperating with the curved lower face 15 of the ottom finger member to draw the finger mem rs together whenthe yoke is shifted from the position shown in Figure 1 to that shown in Fig. 3. The contour of the curved surface 15 is preferably designed so that over approximately the first half of the movement of yoke 11 from right to left the jaws of the gripper finger will be caused to positively en- I gage the blank, and thereafter a continuation of such movement merely preserves the grip thus obtained. This is accomplished by pro- 'viding over the further' range of movement '2 which serves to retain the pivoted end of the gripper device in position, comprises a remo 'able block 23 which-is imbedded flush with the face of the bar. This block is held in position by screws 24. The feed bar is recessed, as shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, and provides an opening at the top through which the upper jaw? of the gripper-finger projects, and an opening at the bottom through which the lower end of yoke 11 and roller 14 downwardly project. Between a ledge 25 formed in the part of the feed bar immediately-below the right-hand end of the gripper-finger, a spring 26 is mounted, such spring serving to normally hold the upper jaw of the gripper-finger above the surface of the guide bar., The gripper-finger is checked accurately in this u per or normal position by the under surface 27 of block 23, against which it is urged bythe action of the spring.

The yoke-like linkor actuator 11 which controls the movement of the gripper-finger jaws,

in one position, locking them securely to gripa sheet of metal between them, and in another position releasing said'jaws so that a sheet may be freelyslipped between them, controlled by lugs'30, 31 which are secured in a channel 32 formed in the table 1 immediately below the path of movement of the gripper finger. The lower end of the yoke or gripper actuator. 11 carrying roller 14, projects into channel 32, so that upon a movement to the left, as indicated in Fig. 1, the roller will be engaged by lug 30 and swung to the right about the yoke pivot 12, thereby running ofi the high portion of curved surface 15 and falling into the portion of such surface lying to, the right, where the lesser radius about pivot 12 permits the lower member 6 to drop away from the upper member 5 under the action of spring, 9, and thereby opening the blank-gripping jaws 7 8.

f WVhen the reciprocatory feed bar 2 is moved to the right,'roller 14, at the lower end of the gripper-finger actuator 11, will engage lug 31,}and the further movementof the feed bar to the end of its stroke will shift the grippef is itself I In the particular embodiment described, it p is only necessary to cause the looking or re- 3 lease of the gripper-finger toward the two extremes of its reciprocating movement with the feed bar 2 ;,that is to say, as the feed bar approaches its extreme position to the left, 5 the lug is engaged by roller 14 and the jaws of the gripper device are thereby opened, and

- the jaws remain in such open position until the reverse movement of the feed bar carries the gripper device almost to its extreme righthand position, where roller 14 engages the lug or tripmember 31 and shifts the actuator 11 to the left, thereby locking the jaws together. 'Obviously, if it were desired to 'effeet a locking or release of the gripper jaws at other positions, this could be readily accomplished by positioning trip members, such as lug 30, at other points along the path of movement of the gripper device, and certain of such lugs could be so formed that afterthey had been engaged by the roller which controls the movement of the jaws and had moved such roller to the jaw-releasing position, for example, the roller would freely pass over the lug. In order that the lugs 30, 31' may be readily replaced, adjusted or shifted to different positions, they are preferably formed with a fiat base portion 33 which may be readily fastened at any desired position along the table 1' by means of screws 34c, 7

As shown in Fig. 6, the blanks B are fed onto the left-hand end of feed bars 2, the blanks being first engaged by the hook or knife edge 35. The blanks are preferably fed automaticallyby a feed device similar to that illustrated in my said prior Patent No. 1.081,050. The forward movement i. e., to the right in Figs. 1 and 6, first carries a blank underneath the top blank-guiding strips. 36.. The weight of these strips is sufficient to frictionally hold the blank upon the surface of the table so that it will not be displaced upon the rearward movement of the feed bars which carry the gripper-fingers beneath the blank, bringing such fingers to rest immediately to the rear of the blank which has been delivered to the first position beneath the guide strips 36. The jaw 7 of the gripper device which normally projects above the surface of the reciprocatory feed bars, is depressed when the gripper device is moved rearwardlyunderneath the blank, the upper inclined surface 37 of such jaw engaging the edge of the blank beneath which it passes, thereby throwing the gripper nose flush with the surface of the feed bar, the spring 26 yielding to permitsuch downward movement. ly upon coming out from under the blank,

I its normal position with the-upper jaw 7 1 thereof projecting above the feed bar, so that flwhenisueh bar starts forward-the gripper jawsre open and in a position to readily engage the blank, which now lies immediately in front of them. The nose portion of the .Thereafterthe positive positioning of the Imm di t blank is obtained in 'co-operation with stripspring 26 causes the gripper-finger to assume e0.

gripper jaws is preferably rounded, as-shown, so that if a blank should not lie perfectly flat upon the table, it will, nevertheless, be guided into the jawsupon a forward movement of the feed bar. I

At points where it is desired to accurately position the. blanks, blank-stripping pawls 40 are provided, such pawls being pivotally mounted upon a fixed part of the mechanism and tensioned by means of a spring 41 so that they tend to drop behind each blank when the blank is moved forwardly. The feed bar having reached its extreme right-hand osition, startson its backward stroke, bringmg the blank vwhich has been positively gripped by the closure of gripper-finger jaws 7, 8.into contact with pawl 40. The grip of the jaws, while of considerable force, is not sufiicient to prevent the stripping of the I blank from between them as the feed bar continues its rearward movement, so that the blank, after being brought securely into contact with-the strippingipawls (the pawls. being preferably arranged in pairs one at either side of the blank) is freed from the jaws. Thus the blank is positively positioned and with great accuracy, even at very high operating speeds. The continued rearward movement of the feed bar is sufiicient to bring the next succeeding pair of gripper fingers beneath the blank which has been fingers passing the blank-on to a posit-ionof rest, where, upon a subsequent cycle of movement, the blank will be engaged by the'next succeeding pair of gripper-fingers and again advanced. As the gripper-fingers move forward, the jaws are preferably designed to exert little, if any, frictional effect upon the a blank between them, such gripping effect not 1 being necessary because the blank is simply pushed ahead to its advanced position by ens gaging the vertical shoulder 42 formed at the rear of the active gripping surface of jaw 7. Before the feed bar has reached its most advanced position, the jaws are brought'into engagement with the blank and locked together.

ping pawls 40. y

In devices hitherto known where it has been necessary to force the blank between the l spring-pressed jaws of a gripper-finger, the

wear upon such jaws has-been excessive whenever the spring pressure has been made sufii=-' cient to insure an effective gripping of the blanks. According to the present invention,

' tuated by .a crank and connectin r ar-- i the blank isjfreely engaged by the 'aws without any appreciable wear, and su sequently subjected to a powerful gripping action. The jaw faces are preferably made smooth so that the-blanks will not be marred, even though subjected to considerable gripping pressure, and it will be seen that the design of the upper and lower finger-like 'members 5, 6 is such that a certain amount of resiliency is provided in them so that the pressure on the jaws will never be excessive, and this is true even if two blanks should accidentally be gripped at once. In such a case, unless a certain resiliency in the gripper fingers were provided, a breakage would probably result.

The pair of feed bars 2 are preferabl acrangement illustrated in. Fig. 7.v t'the upj per end of a',vertical shaft is keyed a rotating head 46, in the upper face of which is fastened a crank pin 47 This pin is held in position by means of a set screw A connecting rod 49 provided with. an mternallythreaded, length-adjusting sleeve 50 trans,

mits motion from the said-crankpin47 to a slide or cross-head 51. The rotation of head 46 causes the slide or cross-head to reciprocate in the guideway 52 formed in the table 1 (see Fig. 10) The cross-head carries a-pair of upwardly-extending arms 53 which are fastened by the cross-bar 53 to the pair of 1 feed bars 2, and in this manner the required reciprocating motion of the feed bars is ob- 7 tained.

, The position of the feed bars which carry the gripper-fingers may be adjusted with respect tothe stripping pawlshereinbefore described by varying the length of connecting rod 49, the threaded sleeve or turnbuckle 50 being'provided-forthis purpose. At either end of the turnbuckle a lock nut 53" is provided to maintain it in the desired adjustment.

s The improved blank-holding device whereby the blanks are clamped securely in position at one 'side of thebody=forming horn 55 is best illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. This device comprises a radially slidable key 56,

I the lower surface of which is inclined to cooperate with a wedge 57 so thatthe key is moved by a reciprocation ofsuch wedge, upwardly upon a movement to the right, and downwardly upon the reverse movement, the co-operating inclined surfaces of the wedge and key impartinga perfectly true vertical movement tothelatter; The upper or outersurface of .key, 56-is rounded so that in its outermost posit-ion, shown in Fig. 9, the surface of the key-forms a smooth continuation of the roundmgsurface of horn '55 about which the blank is wrapped to form the can body. Immediately above the key and parallel therewith, is a straight bar 58 which is mounted in a downwardly-projecting portion 59 ofthe frame of the body-making mathe wedge does not produce any real clamping action. The bar 58 which co-operates with key 56, is at all times preferably urged gently towards the latter by springs 59; so that the blank, as it is fed onto the horn, will be lightly held between the said key and bar. This arrangement does not, however, result in a sufficient frictional effect upon the blank to strip it from the gripper-fingers upon the rearward movement of the feed bars. It will be observed that the nose portions of the bar and key between which the blank is ultimately clamped-are rounded, as shown, to provide smooth guiding surfaces, which lead the entering blank between them, even though the blank be somewhat bent out of proper alignment. After a blank has been accurately positioned over the horn, it is clamped longitudinally along its center line, and such clamping action is not due to the light pressure of springs 59 but is caused by the full force applied by wedge 57, because when the wedging action takes place, the upper bar 58 a of the clamp rests firmly against the wing bracket itself and is no longer resiliently supported.

The wedge 57 is reciprocated by a cam device, as will presently be explained, but such actuation preferably takes place through a somewhat resilient transmission device such as is provided by the spring link 60. This link is pivotally connected between a rocker arm 61 and the clamp-actuating wedge 57 and comprises a simple plunger member 62 which slides in a socket member 63, a spring 64 beinginterposed between shoulders on the two members, so' that forces tending to move the wedge toward the right to effect the clamping of the blank will be transmitted through the said spring. T'he rearward movement of thejwdge is effected through a simple lost motion coupling comprising a pin 65 which projects from the shoulder member 62 into slots 66 formed in the socket member 63. When the upper end of rocker arm 61 moves to the left, the said pin engages the left-hand end of slot 66 and thus effects a positive withdrawal of the clamping wedge 57. The object of providing a resilient coupling as above set forth is two-fold. It insures the proper clamping pressure upon the blank even though the parts of the screwed into the two oppositely-threaded end mechanism are not adjusted with great ac-.

curacy; and it also avoids the possibility of straining any portion of the mechanism in case two blanks should accidentally enter the horn clamp at one time.

The rocker arm 61 is pivotally mounted at 67 upon a bracket 68 secured to the frame of the machine, and at its lower end is pivotally connected to a rod 69.' This rod is made in three sections, the center section of which is pling 60can be regulated so as to impart any desired pressure to the clamp wedge 57.

Rod 69 is reciprocated by a cam roller 73 which is mounted on a pin 74 which projects upwardly from the rod. The cam roller runs in a continuous cam track 75 formed in the lower face of the rotating head 46 previously described. 'As seen in Fig.8 (the view being taken from below), the cani track is so formed that upon a clockwise rotation of the head 46, the cam roller, in passing over the are a, b, will move rod 69 to the left, such motion effecting a movement of wed e 57 to the right so that it clamps the blan between key or spline 56 and bar 58. Thereafter, until the head has rotated through the arc b, c, the rod 69 executes a further slight movement to the left and then returns, but the wedge 57 remains substantially at rest due to the lost motion permitted by the resilient coupling 60. The radius of the cam track over the are 0, 65 then increases,

so that a further rotation of the head. causes the cam roller to shift rod 69 to the right, thereby releasing the wedge clamp and freeing the blank, which, at such time, has been wrapped around the born to form a can body. The continued rotation of the cam track through the arm 03, a merely holds the clamp device in the released position, the radius of the cam track remaining substantially constant over such arc. This completes a cycle of operation, and the cam, device rotating continuously, repeats this cycle, permitting" free entrance of a blank to the proper position over the horn, then clamp- -1ng the blank securely in such position and 55 maintaining it thus securely clamped until the blank has been formed into a can body, the clamp then being released to permit the ejection of the can body and entrance of another blank. I

' To maintain cam roller 73 in proper cooperative relationship with cam track 75, and also to guide rod 69, a fork 76 is formed in the left-hand end member of such rod, this fork'slidably embracing a squared block 77, which blockis in turn mounted upon the vertical shaft 45 in such manner as to permit free rotation of the shaft therein, as by means of an anti-friction bearin 78. This arrangement permits of a perfect y free longitudinal reciprocation of rod 69 while preventing any transverse displacement thereof, and for this reason, because the movement of" the rod-is substantially in a straight line, only a simple pin connection 7 9 need be provided between the rod and rocker arm 61.. Because of the fact that the feed bars 2 andthe wedge clamping device on the horn 55 are both actuated by the rotating head 46,

the former through crank 47, and the latter through the cam track 75, it will be obvious that the proper coordination of such elements is readily attained. Theorank pin 47 is angularly disposedwith respect, to the cam are a, I) in such manner that the feed -bars.2 are caused, in. their rearward movement, to bring the blank against pawls 40 just prior to an engagement of the horn-clamping device, sufficiently positive-to strip the blank from the gripper-fingers, although at the instantthe blank is stripped from the gripperfingers by the action of the pawls hereinbefore set'f'orth, the horn clamp has produced sufiicient pressure to insure against accidental displacement of the blank when released from the gripper-fingers.

As isusual in can body-making machines the born 55 is also transversely expansible, being made in three transverse sections. The

center section 55 is flanked respectively on the left and right by side sections 80, 81,

which are pivotally mounted toward their upper edges upon cylindrical bearing mem bers 82 projecting from the center section. Longitudinally within the said center. section 55, 'a plunger '83 is adapted to slide, and the head of this plunger is provided-with opposed wedging surfaces 84 which act upon the hinged side members 80,. 81 of the horn to swing them outwardly upon a forward movement. of the plunger (to the right in Fig. 7). The plunger carrying opposed Wedges 84 is driven forwardly by a yertically reciprocating slide85 having at 1ts upper end an inclined surface 86, which engages the similarly inclined surface 87 at the left-hand end of plunger 83.

roe

The plunger is moved rearwardly bya spring 88 when the actuating slide 85 is moved downwardly. above-described expansible horn is old in the art and is described inerely to renderthe present disclosure more complete so that the relationship of the several co-operating parts may be better understood.

Itis necessa thatthe horn pansible in or er that themarginal books which are formed in the can body blank may be interlockedafter the blank has been bent around the horn. v To ermit suchinterlocking of the hooks, the cm is collapsed, that is, the side members 80, '81 are pressed in- The' be made ex- 8 wardly by the action of the wrapping or bending win s which form the blank around the horn. T ese wings are not illustrated as their construction is well known. After the hooks are interlocked the horn is expanded by the upward movement of slide 85 in the manner hereinbefore set forth, and such ex-' pansion of the horn holds the hooks in effective engagement so that they may be pressed or bumped together to form theseam. After the bumper has acted to seal the seam it moves downwardly, thereby drawing slide to its lower position and permltting the horn to collapse so that the completed can body may be readily ejected from the horn. I

The completed can body is ejected from the horn in a well known manner, as shown in Figs. 9, 11 and 12, by an ejector slide 89 which reciprocates in a guideway formed in the upper surface of horn 55. This slide has towards its rear end a tooth 89, which,'upon a forward movement of the ejector slide, en- 'gages'the rear edge of the can bod and pushes it off the horn.

I surface o ftheejector tooth 89' (the surface to the left in F'g. 11) forms a'smooth incline which-causes t e tooth to disappear within the ejector slide when such slide is drawn rearwardly underneath the new blank which has been deposited over the horn. The resllient mounting which permits tooth 89' to disappear into the slide isnot illustrated as this is well understood in the art and forms no part of the present invention; The ejector slide 89 is connected in through bar 53 with the feed bars 2 and reciprocates therewith, so that the ejection of the can body is coincident with the introduction of a new blank above .the horn 55 The bumping device according to. the res-- ent invention comprises a bumper 'hea 90, the body portion of which is in the form of a hollow cylinder 91. This. cylindrical portion slides freely within a vertical guide 92 which is rigidly mounted upon the frame of the machine in any suitable manner. Above the said cylindrical portion of the bumper head and preferably inte al therewith, is formed a mounting 93 or the removable b' mper blade 94. This blade is a heavy rectangular slab of steel having a suit-' ably hardened face 95 which is adapted to act upon the on body hooks to press them The rearwar y-extending together to seal the seam, ashereinbefore described.

The operation of the mechanism hereinbefore described has been set forth in detail in connection with the description of the several cooperating mechanisms which go to make up the complete can body-making machine, but a brief resume of the operation will here be given. The can body blanks are fed intothe machine at the left-hand end (see Fig. 7) by any suitable means. The feed bars '2 are continuously reciprocated by the crank'47 and connecting rod 49 which acts.

upon cross-head 51 connected to the feed bars. The forward movements of the feed bars advance the blanks step by step to successive stations, where, .in accordance with usual practice, the'several operations of notching, hook-bendin and final wrap ing of the blank aroun the horn are per ormed. The length of the table along which the blanks are fed ma be such that certain of the steps advance a lank to an idle position where no operation is performed upon it, as is well understood. At points where it is necessary to accurately position a blank with respect to a mechanism which performs some operationgripped is then pul ed rearwardly until it is en a ed b stri ping'pawls' 40 which strip the b lank from the grip er-fingers and thus accurately position 1t. e gripper-fingers, in continuin their rearward movement, pass underneath t eblank occupyin the next station to the'rear, the gripperngers disappearin into the recess provided in the feed bars w ile passing underneath such blank.

The last pair of gripper-fingers in the series along the feed bars move the blank over the top of the horn and accurately position it with respect to the horn through the action of stripping scribed, The lank thus positioned is then securely clamped on the horn by the advance 1 of clamping wedge 57 which presses upward gawls v40, as previously de-- and bar the blank is dis- I action of any suitable form of bumper acting in timed relationship with the mechanism hereinbefore described. The completed can body is ejected from the horn in a well known manner by a reciprocating ejection slide 89 which is connected to the feed bars, so that as the can body is pushed ofl" the horn, a new blank is advanced into position above the horn. v

While my invention in its preferred em bodiment has been hereinbefore described and illustrated, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to' such disclosures but may be otherwise variously modified and embodied without departing from the spirit thereof, as set forth in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a can body-maln'ng machine,a blank gr pping device comprising afpair of jaws, a jaw-actuating member adapted to relatively move said jaws positively together, a feed 1 member on which said jaws are mounted, and

a part of said machine with respect towhich said feed member moves, said part co-operatmg w th said j aw-actuating member to effect a positive closure or gripping action of the aws upon a predetermined movement of said feed member.

' gljipping device comprisingv a In a can body-making machine, a blank gr pping devlce comprising a pair of jaws, a jaw-actuating member adapted to positively move said aws nearer together, a feed bar on which said jaws are mounted, anda trip adapted to change the positionof said jawactuating member upon a'predetermined advance of said feed bar whereby aws to positively grip the blank.

3. In a can body-making machine, a blank air of jaws,

to cause the a aw actuating member adapt close said jaws to grip a blank, 'a feed member on which said jaws are mounted, and a I trip member adapted to move said jaw-actuating member after a predetermined forward blank-feeding movement of said feed member whereby said jaws 'are'closed.

5- members alternately engaged byv 5 4. In a can body-makingmwhine, grip ping device comprising a pair of jaws, a jawactuating member adapted in one position to exert a positlvejaw closing force and in another position to release said jaws, a reciprocating feed member carryin said jaws and said actuating member, an two trip said jawactuating member upon opposite movements of the said feed member whereby said jaws,

are alternately caused to grip an object between them or to open. 5. In a can body-making machine, a grip ping device comprisinga pair of jaws, a.

spring to open said jaws, an arm ivotally connected to one of said jaws, an acting upon a cam surface associated with the other of said jaws, and trip means adapted to move said arm upon relative movement between to positively 'nnder the said blank.

said jaws and saidtrip means, whereby the jaws will be closed to grip a piece of mate: rial between them.

6. In agan body-making. machine, a blanki in evice com rising a two-part gripg er ng er, the part of said finger being pivotall connected together and pivotally mounted n a reciprocating feed bar, an arm pivoted to one of said parts, a cam surface on the other 'of said parts, a member on said' arm adapted to cooperate with said cam surface to close or release the gripper-finger, and

two stationary trips adapted to move said arm back and forth upon the opposite move ments thereof due to the reciprocation of said feed bar, whereby the said gripper-finger will be alternately closed andreleased.

7 In a can body-making machine, a blankpositioning device comprising a pair of cooperating jaws between which a blank may begripped, a reciprocating feed member on which said jaws are mounted, said feed member and jaws acting to propel a blank for wardly to an advanced station and then draw the blank rearwardly a relatively shorter distance, jaw-actuating means adapted in one position to exert a positive jaw closmv force and in another position to release said aws,

.a trip member engaging said jawactuating second trip member is provided, which, upon Y the rearward movement of said feed member is engaged by said jaw-actuating means after the said blank has been stripped from the jaws, whereby the jaws. are released, resilient means being also provided to open said jaws upon their release whereby they will be in a position to freely receive another blank.

9. The blank-positioning device accordingto 'claini 7, further characterized in that resil- 1 ient means are provided tending to open the jaws, the jaws having in addition to their relative movement, a common articulation with respect to. said feed member whereby they are permitted to be depressed when carrie rearward under a blank, and a second spring ada ted to return said jaws to normal position a r they have passed out from 10. A blank-clampin device for holding a a blank on the born 0 a can body-making machine while such blank is being bent around the horn, said device comprising a pair'of relatively movable clamping members between which a blank may be clamped, one

machine, said device comprising a key disposed in the body-making horn and transversely movable with-res ect thereto, keyactuatin jmeansto forcib y move said key outward y, and a co-operating clampmember against which said key is adapted to act to clamp the blank in" a required position with respect to said horn.

I 12. The clamping deviceaccording to claim 11, further characterizedin that said keyactuating means comprises a reciprocating wedge.

13. The clamping device according 'to claim 11, further characterized in that said key is radially slidable in said horn and said co-operating clamp member is disposed with re spect thereto in such position that the blank will'be clamped along a plane substantially tangent to said horn. I

14. The clamping device accordingto claim '11, further characterized in that said key is iam ILifurther characterized in that the said cotransversely slidablein a guideway formed in the horn, and said key-actuating means comprises a wedge longitudinally slidable in said guidewayr- Q 15. In a canhod'yrmaking machine a blankclamping devicecom'prising a stationary horn around which the blank is'wrapped to form a can body, said horn having a radially expanding part,- andka member'against which sa'idpart isjada ted to expand, whereby to clam a" blankmem r.

ping device-according a; claim etween said part and said operating clamp member is movable transversely with respect to said horn, positive stop means being provided to check its movement away from the horn whereby the blank 'may be positively clamped against said member upon an outward movement of the clamping key, and yielding means adapted to main-. tain said member in contact with the surface of a'blank when said key is not in the clamping position.

I 17. The clamping device according to claim 10, further. characterized in that yielding means are provided to maintain at least one of said members in contact with a blank which is fed between the members, whereby it will be maintained in proper relationship with the horn even when the wedge means isin a position to release the clamp.

. 18. The clamping device according to claim i v 10, further characterized in that a reciprocat' ing driving means is provided to actuate said wedge means, there being'a resilient connection between said Wedge and driving means whereby the wedge isyieldi'ngly advanced to effect anengagement of the clamping members, and a lost mot-ion connection between said means, adapted to positively move said wedge in the opposite direction upon a reverse movement of the said reciprocating driving means. 4

19. A can body-making machine having a reciprocating feed member on which aseries of blank-moving fingers are mounted, a wedge actuated horn clamp into which the blanks are fed by the movement of said feed member, a crank, adapted to reciprocate said feed member, a cam adapted to actuate said wedge to efiect the clamping and release of each blank as it is delivered to the horn byzsaid feed member, and a driving shaft upon which the said crank and camare mounted.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. I

PETER, KRUSE. 

